OzReverb
Joined: Apr 28, 2009
Posts: 460
Victoria
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Posted on Nov 10 2019 08:25 PM
Apart from the obvious touching/testing/using your own eyes to verify a purchase etc that you can't do online, has anyone had issues with buying guitars off eBay? More specifically, are there bogus or false sellers in Japan that anyone has come across and should be avoided? I'm more than capable of checking a seller's previous sales etc, but sometimes I wonder if some of the sales are too good to be true.
I'm keen on the one below, as an example:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/YAMAHA-SG-2A-67-SG2A-CAB/303094719847?hash=item4691da6567:g:HDsAAOSwPsRciMt~
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Surfadelphia
Joined: Sep 04, 2017
Posts: 435
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Posted on Nov 11 2019 10:22 AM
Have bought a couple guitars from Japan. Both were very good transactions with the guitars arriving in less than a week and in perfect condition. Now come the warnings: there are numerous Japanese sellers on Ebay that don't actually possess the guitars they are selling. If you are observant you will notice more than one or multiple sellers listing the same guitar. These sellers who don't actually have the guitar will, best case scenario, buy the guitar from the actual shop or seller who has the guitar and then resell it to you (and at a higher price) or they can't get the guitar...so now your time is wasted or they get you another, different guitar than the one shown in the listing. IMO: stay away from these "sellers". Make sure the seller actually has the guitar for sale in their possession. Real Japanese brick and mortar shops are typically great to deal with. Shops like Ishibashi and Guitar Planet always have tons of cool used guitars in stock, are very honest in their descriptions of the condition of the guitars, pack the guitars extremely well, use Japan EMS for shipping (they are super fast and super reliable / best in the world IMO) and this is the best part: most Japanese made guitars in the Japanese market are considered just used guitars, not the exotic beautifully built jems that we are GASing for...and they tend to be priced accordingly so there are many bargains to be had.
Last edited: Nov 11, 2019 10:24:55
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MichaelK7
Joined: Jul 01, 2018
Posts: 106
NYC
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Posted on Nov 11 2019 11:17 AM
^^^
What he said!
I'd definitely stick with one of the larger stores like Ikebe, as opposed to a private seller.
Also, depending on where you are, there is a chance you could get charged customs/duties, etc fees. I've never really understood how that works, as I've known people here in the US that have gotten hit with them, while others haven't. It almost seems to be a "luck of the draw" thing.
— Deal with reality, or reality will deal with you.
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OzReverb
Joined: Apr 28, 2009
Posts: 460
Victoria
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Posted on Nov 12 2019 04:11 AM
Yeah I have noticed patterns i.e. the same guitar's image being used for 2, sometimes 3 different sellers in their ads. Thanks heaps for the advice.
— https://www.facebook.com/lostremoleros/
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